The Legendary “Intertwined Trees”

Of the different anecdotes of Pou Chai Temple, the one about the intertwined trees at its back garden has been the most popularly known. Legendarily, there was a pair of lovers at the time when the Temple was newly constructed. The Ng surnamed maiden came from Mong-Ha Village and the young lad was the son of a peasant family of Long Tin Village. Though the lovebirds wanted to get married but the parents of the maiden disagreed since the lad came from a poor background. The couple resorted to elopement at night but was caught by their parents. Out of frustration and despair, the young lovers hung themselves on a tree. Their parents were in deep regret for what had happened and decided to bury them together beneath the tree where they committed suicide. Time after time, two banyan trees with their trunk intertwined sprung up from the burial ground. This touching love story is still much talked about today.

The intertwined trees were severely infested when Macao was plagued by pests in 1992. Despite the strenuous efforts spent in salvaging them by experts from Mainland China, most of their branches and twigs withered eventually. A picture of the intertwined trees, taken by photographer Wong Wai Hong during their prime time, has been mounted into the granite pedestal in 1998.